An Interview with an AACCUP Team Leader The Chronicler staff were given the opportunity to interview an AACCUP team leader namely, Prof. Mario Ritchie O. Hibionada after the Closing Ceremony. Chronicler Staff: How long have you been an accreditor? Prof. Mario Ritchie O. Hibionada: It's already about 5 years and this is actually my second time to visit Basilan State College. First was the preliminary visit and now for the level 1. Chronicler Staff: In your opinion, how important is the accreditation? Prof. Mario Ritchie O. Hibionada: Ofcourse, because the State Universities and Colleges were looking forward for vision integration and all our programs should be accredited in a way that our graduates could be globally competitive. We start it in our nearby Asian countries and then we move forward probably sooner or later into other countries of the world. Chronicler Staff: In your opinion, how important is it being an accreditor? Prof. Mario Ritchie O. Hibionada: Ofcourse it is challenging on our part because we have to learn also about the other programs whether they comply the minimum requirements of the Commission on Higer Education and other requirements especially on the ISO International Standard, whether we qualify to their needs or our graduates can also be globally competitive in terms of knowledge, skills and values. Chronicler Staff: What would be your message to all those involved in these accreditation? Prof. Mario Ritchie O. Hibionada: Ofcourse this will serve as an eye opener to all of us that we'll be able to know earlier what are our weakness and what are our strength and what are the areas that needs improvement and probably we'll be able to move on as we submit ourselves for accreditation. Chronicler Staff: What would be your message to the 5 programs involved in this accreditation? Prof. Mario Ritchie O. Hibionada: We look into the more improvement ofcourse more development. Let us not be satisfied only for level 1 but we had to look onward on how we'll able to improve more and be competitive not only in the ARMM region, in region IX but as well as the entire nation. Chronicler Staff: What would be your message to the BaSC president? Prof. Mario Ritchie O. Hibionada: Mr. Nasser happens to be my classmate in a Doctor of education but unfortunately,I was not be able to finish earlier. But I look at him as a model in our batch. And I was able to see how interesting as far as his ambition that he wanted BaSC will be a model of academic institutions in the region if not in the entire nation. Because the way I look at it he is very agressive in terms of progress and development here in Basilan Province.